Birthright
by Rose Eclipse
Summary: A young John dares to run away from Ultra, unaware that his greatest secret lies with Dr. Jedekiah Price. Alternative universe.


"_Better he should be bruised from head to foot by me who loves him then he should come to harm through ignorance." _-The Jungle Book

It could have been a cool autumn day or a frigid rainstorm out on the streets of New York City. But inside Ultra headquarters the temperate remained unaltered at 65 degrees every single day of the year.

Everything was pristine. Everything was orderly. Everything was predictable except for John Young.

The thirteen-year-old boy was in one of Ultra's training rooms, sitting on a bench in the corner and struggling to concentrate on his homework while two girls sparred on the mats. One of them, a charming freckled cadet with red hair in a braid, kept throwing winks in John's direction. His ears turned pink but he tried to focus on the task at hand. John was still shorter and younger than most of the cadets. This gave him the advantage as they had underestimated the quiet blonde-haired youth until he demonstrated his abilities, proving himself capable of shooting to the front of the class.

"How's your trigonometry coming along?"

The commanding figure of Dr. Jedekiah Price, immaculate and professionally dressed, had appeared in the room. Betty and her partner stiffened up in attentiveness but Jedekiah just waved a hand, motioning for them to go back to their training. They continued trading punches as Jedekiah took a seat next to John.

"You know we have a state-of-the-art study on the fifth floor," he pointed out.

"I know," John admitted. He glanced wistfully at Betty.

The expression was noted by Jedekiah. "Instincts are unavoidable, John. Just don't let them go to your head," he warned. "It would be a shame if your grades dropped."

"I won't let that happen," the boy insisted quickly.

Jedekiah nodded in approval. His attention drifted to the paper full of scribbled equations clutched in John fist. He extracted the paper and carefully smoothed out the wrinkles.

"You made an error in formula 11," he finally said.

"How?"

Jedekiah handed the paper back to John. "That's up for you to figure out. I'm not going to do your homework for you."

"If you don't tell me what I did wrong then how can I learn anything?" he insisted.

"There's no such thing as an easy answer, John." Jedekiah pointed to the formula. "See here? You wrote opposite over hypotenuse."

John studied the paper thoughtfully. "So for the tangent...it has to be opposite over adjacent? Is that right?"

"There's only one way to find out."

John picked up his pencil and carefully worked out the problem. When he had completed it, Jedekiah nodded in approval. Without another word, he got up and walked out of the room.

As soon as Jedekiah was out of vision, a cloud passed over John's face. The pencil on the bench twitched with telekinesis and snapped clean in two.

A chasm had been growing inside of John for weeks. Sometimes he felt so close to accomplishing the goal on hand only to have Jedekiah push it back further, urging John to break his limits. Sometimes he wondered if the scientist saw him as anything more than another foot soldier to be taught and trained for the "greater good".

But what truly tore John up inside was the horrific moment when Jedekiah had forced him to watch Tony Higgins be gunned down by Ultra agents. The nice elderly man had given John free comic books and kind smiles; he didn't deserve to become a sacrificial lamb. But because John had revealed his powers to an ordinary human being, Ultra had to hush up the whole thing. And that meant someone had to pay the price.

John had starred in mortification from the car as the agents sprayed bullets into Tony's chest and then he screamed at Jedekiah in accusation. The scientist only said it was _their_ bullets that had done the killing, not him. John should be relieved that he wasn't the one six feet under. Oh sure, he had tried to soothe everything over by assuring John that he'd be all right; as if the boy had endured nothing more than a skinned knee.

He'd be damned before being _grateful_ to his mentor for such a cruel lesson. There was no turning back for John.

A-A-A

Ultra ran like clockwork and could be patronizing at times but it attended to breakouts in ways that foster care had neglected. John never had to worry about feeding himself again. He got a well-balanced meal three times a day, slept between clean sheets every night, and there was plenty of soap and toilet paper to go around.

But today John merely pushed the contents of his plate around with a fork. His throat was sore and he didn't feel like eating anything.

"Hey look, Neil. The teacher's pet ain't hungry," someone sneered.

Allen, a big swaggering kid of fifteen, plunked himself on the seat next to John and jabbed him in the chest with a meaty finger. "What's wrong, John? Thinkin' about your awesome teacher all the time?"

"Looks kinda sick today," Neil chimed in. "Does Johnny whonny need to go to the nursey wursey?"

"Maybe Dr. Price can make you all better," gloated Allen.

"Shut up," John muttered under his breath. His emotions were twisting and simmering, threatening to bubble over.

"Aw did I hurt both your feelings? C'mon, Johnny. We know you and Price are thick as thieves." Allen crossed his fingers together.

"Teacher's pet!" sang Neil. Allen laughed and chimed. "Teacher's pet! Teacher's pet!" they chanted together.

_CRACK!_

John's fist struck like a snake into Allen's nose, causing blood gushed out of his nostrils. Within seconds they were rolling on the floor together, then disappearing and reappearing behind each other in an attempt to wrestle one another into defeat.

"Fight! Fight!" cheered one of the kids. Everyone quickly formed a circle around John and Allen. They urged the boys on with gleeful cries.

John may have been small for his age but he was quick. Allen grabbed a handful of his shirt and was ready to give John a black eye when he quickly teleported right behind Allen. John snatched a metal tray off the table and whacked it against the back of Allen's head. The teen fell like a sack of potatoes and John threw himself on top of him, pinning Allen's legs with his knees. His fists pounded into Allen's chest right and left, back and forth until-

-John was seized by the scruff of his neck and dragged off of Allen. An Ultra agent quickly ushered in and helped the blubbering Allen to his feet.

The last thing John saw were the worried faces of the other kids just before he was marched out of the cafeteria and down the hallway. He could barely keep up with Jedekiah's stride. The scientist took massive steps and never slowed down or released his iron grip on John's shoulder until they reached the dormitory.

Upon entering the room, Jedekiah finally let go of John. The boy glowered and rubbed his sore shoulder.

"Your behavior," Jedekiah said in a frosty tone, "was unacceptable."

John kept his mouth a tight button-hole while his eyes narrowed accusingly at Jedekiah.

"You are a superior being, John. I expect you to act like one at all times. Before controlling your power what is the first thing you are expected to control?"

John said nothing.

Blue fire flickered in Jedekiah's eyes. "John, I'm waiting for an answer," he demanded quietly.

"My temper," John muttered under his breath.

"Yes. Clearly, you haven't mastered it yet. That's two infractions for unnecessary violence—"

"Allen started it!" John blurted out in protest.

"—and two more for disobedience," Jedekiah added. "I advise you to stay here and think about your actions for the rest of the day."

Jedekiah hadn't even taken three steps to the door when a shoe collided with the back of his head. It bounced twice on the floor before coming to a top.

"Why do you always pick on me? Why don't you trust me?!" John cried out.

"Trust has to be earned," his mentor said.

"Oh yeah? Well, maybe I just don't want to earn it! Maybe I'm sick of proving myself to you!" John exploded with rage. "I'm sick of training and lessons and being told what to do with my powers! I hate you! _I hate you!_"

A water glass on the night table shattered with a shrill snap, bringing John's rant to a halt. Jedekiah glanced at the mess. The only sound was the soft _drip drip drip_ of water onto the floor.

Jedekiah's eyes finally locked with John and the boy felt a twinge of fear inside from his mentor's icy stare. For a moment he seemed capable of doing something insane. But he merely picked up the shoe and set it carefully the bed. When he spoke his tone was perfectly controlled.

"Don't force me to rack up eight infractions."

This time John didn't disobey.

A-A-A

_Later that night:_

John had smuggled enough ice out of the cafeteria to use before it melted. He pressed the cold wet napkin against the handle and counted to thirty.

The security doors worked on heat sensors. He had paid careful attention in their programming classes and studied the locks long enough to notice their weaknesses. Now it was paying off but he had to move smoothly if he wanted to beat the system. Teleporting was out of the question; he'd be spotted in a heartbeat.

John watched the red light flickering on the monitor screen flash to green. He smiled to himself and quickly yanked the door open with the icy napkin before slipping quietly out of the corridor. The door closed behind him with the faintest clicking sound.

His feet tread swiftly and softly over the concrete steps until he was flying down the staircase...and then he was standing outside of Ultra without setting off a single alarm.

New York City swirled around him in a blur of neon lights, beeping cars, blasting music, hissing smoke, and a thousand strange smells. The sensations overwhelmed John's mental stage and he reeled back for a moment, breathing deeply and uses his five senses to absorb everything.

He took one shaky step and then another. One foot in front of another. Soon he was walking down an avenue with his arms swinging freely and a bounce in his stomach. He glanced behind himself once or twice to see if he was being followed but there were no shrill sirens or Ultra agents tagging at his heels. He inhaled through his nostrils and got a whiff of steam colliding with chilled autumn wind.

John was free. He could go anywhere and do anything he wanted. No curfews, no classes, and no teachers.

Freedom should have felt good, right? Then why did he still feel hollow inside?

A-A-A

"Messy business this is, Jedekiah."

The Founder leaned back in his leather armchair and starred at Jedekiah from across the crystal table. "If you can't keep track of your trainees then we'll just have to do something about it."

"I agree," nodded Professor Molt. The bumbling bespectacled man had the personality of a dead fish, which was why Jedekiah avoided interacting with him as much as possible.

Roger was there too but stood in the background with his arms crossed and his lips sealed. He was so quiet that Jedekiah could have mistaken his brother for a statue.

Professor Molt went on. "Another reckless youth has threatened Ultra's existence. This cannot be tolerated, Dr. Price. John _must_ be returned before he jeopardizes the security of this organization."

"And he will," Jedekiah assured the Founder.

"Oh will he?" demanded his superior. "My best agents have spent hours combing this city for John with no results. Why is that, Jedekiah?"

"Because he's an insolent boy who needs to be severely disciplined!" interrupted Professor Molt.

"Insolent, yes, but still under my supervision. That means it is my responsibility to find him," Jedekiah remarked. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb to suppress a migraine. Professor Molt didn't need telepathy to drive a person to madness.

"He could have been abducted," suggested Roger quietly. "John's one of our best trainees. Someone must have wanted to use him for his abilities."

_At least my brother thinks before opening his mouth_, thought Jedekiah gratefully. Aloud he pressed on.

"Abduction from inside Ultra's dormitory is impossible. I know John better than anyone. He got out on his own."

"Are you saying the boy just overrode our system and _walked_ out of here!?" demanded the Founder.

Jedekiah nodded.

"That only proves the facts. I'm sorry Dr. Price but your pupil is a rebellious, ungrateful, and dangerous child," concluded Professor Molt

"Or courageous, daring, and resourceful," he was countered by Jedekiah. "Thanks to John's actions, we've located a flaw in our security systems. Wasn't the thermal sensor unit part of your original design for Ultra, Professor Molt?"

The professor turned pink and spluttered something but Jedekiah didn't even bother to listen He strode out of the office with Roger at his heels.

"He couldn't have gone far in his condition," Jedekiah said aloud.

"Be easy on him, Jed," Roger said softly. His brother suddenly stopped in his tracks and whirled on him.

"What do you expect me to do? Win John back with puppy dogs and therapy hugs?"

"He's gone through so much, Jed. Give the boy some slack."

"You know I can't afford to do that."

It was Roger's turn to flare up. "For God's sake, Jed. He's not a program you can rewire into submission, he's a-"

"-human being?"

"John is a person, damnit. He has feelings!" Roger demanded.

Jedekiah eyed his brother warily. "Since when have you taken such an interest in John?"

Roger shook his head. "The other day after the agents took out that old man, I saw John curled up in a corner. He looked so upset, so scared. You can't imagine how much pain he's in, Jed."

A flicker of alarm crossed Jedekiah's face. "What did you tell him? Did you say anything?"

"No, of course not," Roger insisted. "But I did tell him how important it was to keep secrets. Just listen to the boy, Jed. Open up to him."

"No", Jedekiah insisted. "It's too dangerous."

"What could be more dangerous than denying John the truth? Doesn't he deserve to know about-"

"-don't you _dare_ say her name," Jedekiah hissed to Roger. He seized his brother by the lapels tightly. "I kept the truth from John for a reason."

"But isn't this his secret too?" asked Roger.

Jedekiah looked ready to say something but restrained himself. He released Roger and strode towards the dormitory.

Their elite tracking team would already be using the latest technology to find John and Jedekiah knew it was all a waste of time. Computers might be able to follow a trail of predictable patterns and methods but they weren't perfect. Yet.

He burst into the dormitory where John's roommate was sitting on his bed smoking a cigarette. He nearly chocked on it and began babbling hysterical apologies to Jedekiah. The man miraculously ignored him and went straight to the locker at the foot of John's bed.

Predictability. Habits. Methods. This was how you got the job done.

Jedekiah flipped open the locker and rummaged around until he found what he was looking for: two Popsicle sticks and a Spiderman comic book.

A-A-A

_"God has given you one face and you make yourself another."_ –William Shakespeare

John felt nauseous. The three ice cream bars he had devoured had only temporarily soothed his throat and now it was sore again. He had tried washing them down with a bottle of orange juice. Now the avalanche of sugar sliding around in his stomach was threatening to come back up.

He leaned against his chair and tried to focus on the comic book he was reading. It was an exciting story with robots and samurais in outer space and he should have enjoyed it more. The bookstore was bright and dry against the drizzly rain falling across the city but he couldn't stop shivering.

"_It's the ice cream,"_ he told himself, tightening his windbreaker around himself and wishing he had brought warmer clothes and some aspirin.

"Closing time is in five minutes," announced the loudspeaker. A saleswoman walked closer and bent over John.

"Son? We're closing the store soon." She looked over him with concern. "Are you feeling all right? Do you need anything?"

He shook his head and burst out into a fit of wet coughs.

"N-no, I'm good," he gasped, waving a hand away. The last thing he needed was Ultra agents and the wrath of Jedekiah Price to come crashing down on his head. He managed to shuffle out the door just before the lights of the bookstore flickered off.

The rain had stopped but cold air whipped through the city and seemed to go right through John. He wrapped his hands around himself and tried to focus on something else other than the throbbing pain in his head. He walked for what felt like hours but the fractured digits on a clock in a store window told him it was only twenty minutes later. It would take hours before he got off the island.

John sat down near a pile of rubbish to rest himself. He could hear the mental messages of pedestrians bundled up in coats and sweaters. Everyone was anxious to get home to their friends and families. Their thoughts were tired after long days at work and school but brightened by the promises of returning to warm safe homes. Murmuring messages flowed around John like water around a rock.

Loneliness lodged itself within his chest. He had nowhere to go and no one to worry over him. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes while loose raindrops fell off awnings and pitter pattered softly around him. He began to nod off when his mind picked up a thought that was much louder than the rest.

"_What a pretty little boy…"_

The words slithered around inside John's head. He staggered to his feet and scanned the throng of people, quickly trying to narrow in on the thoughts.

"_He can't be more than ten or eleven. No cops in sight either."_

John spun around in a circle. He could feel beads of sweat rising on his skin and his heart was racing up.

"_Aw, he's shy. How cute,"_ cooed the thought.

His eyes finally came across a man standing few yards away with a hungry expression in his eyes. He had a head of thick shaggy hair and when he grinned, gaps showed between his missing teeth. He was coming closer to John but fear had frozen his feet in place. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

"Aw, what's wrong kid? You lost or something?"

He bent down close to John. The boy nearly gagged from the stench of alcohol and rot from the man's mouth. He could hear every one of the man's ugly thoughts and each of them was fixated on doing terrible things to John's body.

He made a quick movement but the man was faster and grabbed John by his wrists, pinning them behind his back. "Now now, kid. Take it easy. You're not well. I know just what you need."

"No! Let me go!" John yelled. His eye fell on a tin garbage can and he forced his brain to flare up, to make it hurl itself against his attacker's head. But the can did little more than wobble against the wind. He shut his eyes and frantically tried to teleport but that didn't work either. His energy was tapped out.

The man pressed a cloth against John's face. He inhaled something sickly-sweet and was pulled into a gray mist. His legs gave out beneath him and he was falling away...

It felt like hours later but was still dark when John came to. The offending dampness of the mattress beneath his body had woken him up quickly. He was in an abandoned apartment building that creaked with every gust of air. He felt his wrists and ankles had been tied together with twine. He strained against the nipping metal straps but they only cut into his skin.

"Got a little fight left in you, pretty boy? Good."

The horrible man came into John's vision, leering over him with a hungry look in his blood-shot eyes. He seized John by the shoulders and rubbed his stubbly cheek against the boy's face. John's skin crawled in disgust from the contact.

"You freak!" he hissed out. "Get off me!"

John squirmed and thrashed, cold metal biting against his flesh. The man threw a leg on either side of the boy's waist and settled himself down on top of John. He was pinned down beneath the weight of his captor and no matter how much John twisted and jerked, he remained trapped in place and weak as a kitten.

"No no no," he whimpered. _  
_

"Oh, kid. You're just adorable," his attacker murmured thickly. John's eyes widened in mortification as the man slowly undid the buttons of his shirt. Blood roared in John's ears as he felt fingers ran down his body, opening up his shirt. A whistle of cold air violated John's skin. He heard the man inhale greedily. John shut his eyes and let out a final burst of telepathic panic.

"_Please! Somebody help me! Anybody!" _

The man had placed his hands on John's belt and was about to unbuckle it when a crashing sound came from behind him. The flimsy door nearly exploded with impact, sending shards of splintered wood scattering across the room.

From his twisted angle on the floor, John could only see part of a trench coat. But his attacker had a full view of the gun aimed at his head and a pair of enraged stormy blue eyes.

The attacker raised his hands up in the air. "Wait a minute, this ain't what it—"

A bullet whizzed through the air and sliced clean through his skull.

A-A-A

"John?"

Jedekiah's voice was sharp and urgent, breaking through the boy's foggy mind. The car window was wide open. A breeze flapped over his face as the vehicle roared down the highway. The blasts of cold air were making his teeth chatter. His eyes rolled in the back of his head for a moment before they focused on his mentor who only took his attention off John long enough to pay attention to the road ahead. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel.

"Can you talk?"

John's head bobbed up and down. "Yeah," his voice croaked out. "What happened?"

"That man won't bother you or anybody else ever again." There was no doubting the guarantee in Jedekiah's voice. It was an anchor to John, securing his fluttering thoughts back into reality. He released a sigh of relief just before a cool dry hand pressed against his forehead.

"You have a fever."

There was a hint of emotion in Jedekiah's voice that betrayed something warm, almost tender, that John had never heard before.

"I feel awful," the boy admitted weakly.

Jedekiah pushed a button and the car windows slid shut. There was a sensation of warmth and John realized Jedekiah had draped his coat around the boy's shivering shoulders. The heat seeped into John's body, lulling him into blessed darkness.

He leaned against the cushions and closed his eyes, letting the darkness whisk him up and away over the skyscrapers of New York City.

A-A-A

He expected to wake up in the sterile infirmary of Ultra. Instead, John found himself in the bedroom of an expensive apartment that overlooked Central Park. The room was awash with warm yellow lighting that was soft and inviting while raindrops continued to splatter noisily against the windows.

His eyes flitted across the room until they rested on Jedekiah, who was sitting in a leather chair and reading. The rustling sound of sheets caused Jedekiah to jerk his head up. He snapped the book shut and knelt down beside the bed until he was eye-to-eye with John.

"How do you feel?"

He rubbed one eye sleepily. "Tired."

"I'm not surprised. You've been asleep for eleven hours." Jedekiah picked up a cup from the nightstand and handed it to John. "Drink this."

John reluctantly took a sip. He didn't like tea, especially the lukewarm stuff, but this tasted sweet. What was Jedekiah up to know?

_Shouldn't get my hopes up for Coney Island and arcade games_, John thought wearily. But he was so thirsty that he managed to swallow down the tea in four gulps.

Jedekiah checked his forehead again. "No more fever," he concluded. And then in the blink of an eye his behavior switched.

The scientist suddenly gripped John by the shoulders and starred into his face. "I want you to tell me what the hell you just did," he demanded.

"I was just trying to get away," John admitted.

Jedekiah shook his head madly. "You have no idea how dangerous the streets of New York are for people like you. What were you thinking, John!?" His voice rose into a feverish pitch.

"You ran out there without help, without protection. Ultra has been scanning New York for hours trying to find you. Do you think that man was the only one of his kind? This city is full of monsters and not all of them need powers to get what they want. You could have been hurt, John, You could have been _killed_!"

Jedekiah ended on a shout and shook John so hard that his teeth knocked against each other.

"Why did you do such a foolish reckless thing?"

"I just..." John dropped his head in shame. "I couldn't take it anymore. All the secrets and the training and the missions. And I...I can't watch anyone else getting hurt 'cuz of me," he blurted out.

A terrible silence fell between them. A strange emotion crawled through Jedekiah's eyes, something painfully sincere. When he finally spoke his voice was low and urgent.

"I know how you feel, John. That's why I have to take you back to Ultra—"

"No, please, no!" John begged. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes that he had been suppressing for months. "Don't make me go back there."

"I have to. It's the only place I can protect you."

"Protect me from what? You can't take care of me. You don't even trust me!" John said accusingly. He buried his face in his hands as tears finally leaked out of his eyes and ran hot and sticky down his face.

"John."

A shuddering sob ran through the boy.

"Look at me."

With Herculean effort, he lifted his face up to his mentor. Jedekiah's hand was outstretched to him. John starred at the palm and then back at Jedekiah. "You want me to read your mind?"

He nodded. "I want you to trust me."

There was a moment's hesitation on John's behalf. He wasn't sure if he was going to like this. In previous mental exercises, Jedekiah had managed to show John disturbing things that he wished he could have scrubbed out of his memory. But now his curiosity was growing stronger and he doubted Jedekiah would ever give him this opportunity again.

John took a deep breath and placed his hand into Jedekiah's larger one. Fingers closed over his own in a secure grip.

He shut his eyes and could feel himself sliding into subconscious, his mind flowing out of his being and into Jedekiah's thought. The man offered no resistance this time and as John moved forward, he could feel the locks around Jedekiah's memories clicking open for him. A guiding light smoothly lead John down and into the complex labyrinth that his mentor had constructed around himself. He floated down the white corridors until a wink of color appeared before John. The door opened before him, allowing him to step into the memory.

He saw a flash of yellow. Tulips. Drops of sunshine and butter heaped in a basket.

A-A-A

"_Hello, Catherine."_

_The pretty brunette dropped her basket and let the flowers fall into a messy heap. Jedekiah stood in the yard, a streak of a dark suit against the full shade of summer trees. How he wasn't breaking out into a sweat was beyond her. She had to reassure herself that Dr. Jedekiah Price was the _human_ one of the two. Though they were safely hidden beneath branches laden with leaves, Catherine remained on guard. _

_She stepped away from him. _"_I don't want any trouble with you or Ultra," she warned softly._

"_I know. I just had to see how you were getting on." He walked closer to her until they were barely inches apart. Beads of sweat gathered on her brow and around her mouth. __Catherine's chest rose and fell with every breath. _

_"W-we're fine, Jed," she stammered. "Everything is fine."_

_He nodded. "Good."_

"_If that's all, I think you should go now." She quickly flicked a hand and the tulips bundled themselves back together._

"_May I see him?"_

_She glanced over his shoulder uneasily. "I don't think that's a good idea."_

"_Catherine, please. Two years is a long time."_

_"Two years and nine months," she reminded him. "After all this time, why now?"_

J_edekiah's cool blue gaze seemed to stare right into the thoughts of her head. C__atherine clutched the flower basket to her chest as if it was a shield protecting her from his authority. Yet she could sense the urgency crackling in the air around them._

_Catherine finally nodded her head, motioning for Jedekiah to follow her inside. The tiny white brick house had a crammed and cluttered feeling to it; so different from Ultra's pristine lifestyle. Jedekiah glanced at a stack of dirty dishes in the sink. He nearly tripped over some plastic building blocks and a pile of picture books._

"_I just put him down for his nap," Catherine whispered. She opened a door carefully and motioned him to go in. _

_He approached a crib in the center of the room where a toddler was sleeping. His head was covered with soft downy hair the color of the sun. He was curled up between a stuffed elephant and a blue blanket. Faint puffing sounds came out of his nostrils as he breathed in and out. _

_Catherine didn't have to read Jedekiah's mind to know what he was thinking. For once words wouldn't suffice. His throat was painfully tight as he looked at the little bundle slumbering peacefully._

_Finally, Jedekiah found his voice. "What's his name?" he whispered hoarsely._

"_Jonathan," she said. _

_He turned to face her. "Jonathan," he repeated. His eyes glowed with pride. "It's perfect. He's perfect." His cupped hands came to Catherine's face, stroking her cheeks gently._

"_You're perfect," Jedekiah added as he kissed her on the mouth. She smelled like suntan lotion and grass. He wanted to stand like this forever, frozen in time in a cool quiet room, with just Catherine and the child._

_Catherine unwillingly pulled out of Jedekiah's embrace. "I'm sorry," she protested. "But we can't do this."_

"_I know," he nodded in agreement. "Ultra is modifying their security. You'll have to relocate."_

"_Again?" Catherine looked at her baby in dismay. _

"_It's the only way to stay off their radar for now. The Founder won't be pleased if he founds out one of his 'failed experiments' is living among humans and rearing a child."_

"_Can't you take him in, Jedekiah?" asked Catherine. "You're one of Ultra's highest-ranking officers. They'd never think twice about you raising your son."_

_He lowered his head to hers. "It's too dangerous. I won't let my son pay for my sins by becoming a lab rat."_

"_And I can't have him living hated and spurned because of his mother's follies." Tears brimmed in Catherine's eyes. "Please, Jedekiah. He needs to be strong enough to face the world. If they abuse him because of who he is…" _

_Jedekiah pressed a finger to her lips. "They won't. I give you my word. If he needs me, Jonathan won't be lacking for anything. But for now, the safest place for the both of you is far away from me as possible."_

_Catherine smiled through her tears. "I was such a fool to fall in love with you."_

"_That makes two of us. But for all our foolhardiness, look at what we have."_

_Jedekiah looked back at the toddler in the crib. A hand smoothed over the baby's downy cheek. The tiny boy stirred in his sleep and a faint smile appeared on his dimpled mouth._

"_Jonathan."_

A-A-A

John was quivering all over when he broke contact with Jedekiah. His ears vibrated with the echoes from memories.

"No," he croaked faintly.

"Yes."

His hands gripped his head in a frenzy. "_This isn't happening," _he thought._ "This isn't real. Jedekiah Price can't be my—"_

"Breath, John."

Instinctively he did as he was told and focused on taking loud gulps of air in and out of his lungs. Only when he was sure he wouldn't pass out did John dare to ask.

"Did my mom...that is...did Ultra," he stammered.

"No," Jedekiah confirmed sharply. "When you were three, you and your mother were out driving in a snowstorm. Your mother's car hit an icy patch and skidded. She wasn't able to teleport in time. But you did."

_"We lived in a cute little house in Pennsylvania. My mom had a garden full of tulips. I had a blue bedroom with stuffed animals_."

He went on. "Civilians found you wandering by the road a mile away and thought you must've miraculously survived the crash and crawled out on your own. Catherine's identifications were all fabricated and no connections linked either of you to me. So you became a ward of the state until I found you—or rather, the Founder found you and gave me orders to bring you in."

_Jonathan is bouncing in his crib, crying fretfully for his mother. Only when she comes in and sweeps him up into her arms does he let himself melt into her embrace, relieved to feel her protecting him. She starts singing that old lullaby again: "My bonnie lies over the ocean, my bonnie lies over the sea..."_

Jedekiah's hand rested on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, John." His voice was weary with years of deception and mystery. Now it finally cracked when he spoke his son's name.

"I'm so sorry for all the suffering you've endured because of your mother and me. I'm sorry that I can't give you a normal life." He gently squeezed John's shoulder. "But I can help you not to be afraid anymore. I _want_ to help you."

A single thought flared from Jedekiah's mind like an ember and John grasped it, startled by its warmth and strength. It crumbled the barriers inside of him, filling him with strength and wonder.

"Y-you love me?"

Something glistened in Jedekiah's eyes and John realized he was not starring at the scientist or the Ultra agent anymore. This was a man who would turn his entire life into a fabrication and the world against him in order to protect his child. Jedekiah wrapped his arms around John and pulled the boy into a tight embrace. His voice came out muffled and chocked. "Yes, I do."

John buried his face into his father's shoulder and sobbed, letting emotions pour forth and flow through him, washing the guilt and fear out of his conscience. He hadn't remembered ever being loved before but now it had unlocked itself within him, fortifying him in ways that pills and tests never could. The knowledge that he had someone tying him to this world by a bond of blood and family was more powerful than any ability he could contain.

He could hear Jedekiah's mantra repeating itself like a heartbeat: "_You are my life. You are everything to me." _This was the bare and honest truth of Dr. Price that he wouldn't reveal to another soul at the cost of his life. Not even the wonders of his life's work could amount to one tenth the pride and joy he had for the boy in his arms.

"Shhh." A hand carefully stroked the back of John's head as he was rocked back and forth. "Shhh. It's all right, John."

With great reluctance, Jedekiah placed his hands on John's shoulders and pulled him out of the embrace until they were eye to eye.

"What was my mom like?" John asked as he scrubbed his eyes.

"Wonderful. Gentle. Kind," Jedekiah said. "And full of courage. I believe she was the bravest person I ever knew. She taught me how to take risks for the people we care about."

"Why can't we leave Ultra?" asked John. "Run away and hide just like my mom and I did."

"I only wish it was that easy," Jedekiah confessed. "But the Founder has eyes and ears everywhere. The moment someone tries to disappear, they'll be hunted down and finished. Sometimes it's better to hide in plain sight."

"So you're saying the safest thing to do is stay here?"

"In the mouth of the wolf is the last place he'll look," Jedekiah said knowingly.

John sighed in dismay.

"I know life isn't fair, John. It can be cruel and selfish and unbearable. Sometimes you just want to surrender and let it consume you. But you have to fight it. You have to be strong. Because someday your powers will help you become a better person."

"Better?"

"There are many people out there like you, John. People who are just as scared and angry as you were when I found you. They need a leader who can help them. You could be that person. You could be a hero."

"Hero." The word was bright and clear on John's tongue.

"Will you be strong, John? For the both of us?"

"I, I'll try," he admitted. "But what if something happens to you?"

"Do you think anyone could slip past me?" Jedekiah asked with a hint of amusement in his tone.

"No, I guess not," John admitted.

"You were the first, and I'm sure, the last person to slip away unnoticed." He gripped John's hand in his own. "But this has to be our secret. I risked too much with your mother. I won't lose you too either."

Jedekiah touched John's forhead with one finger and then pointed to the left side of his chest. "Bury this deep inside of you where no one can use it against you."

He watched John close his eyes and focus with great concentration. John imagined the secret pulsing within him like a second heartbeat. He cupped it cautiously and folded it up into a tiny golden sphere. Carrying it into himself, he nestled the memory within the abyss of his mind and secured it away like a a treasure locked up in a chest. He took a deep soft breath and opened his eyes.

Jedekiah nodded in approval. "Very good, John. Now try to get some rest."

John leaned back against the pillows and Jedekiah pulled the covers up to his chin, tucking the boy in.

"When do I have to go back?" he asked, smothering a yawn.

"I'll bring you to headquarters tomorrow. You'll likely have privileges revoked for two weeks but I've smoothed things over," Jedekiah assured him. "Ultra is convinced that you got out because you wanted to find new breakouts."

John blinked to stay awake. "You did that for me?"

"That's what family does, John. We watch each other's back. Someday, I hope you'll do the same for me."

"I'd like that," John admitted. He sank back into the pillows in a sigh of relief and was already half asleep.

"Good man. Brave soldier," Jedekiah whispered. He reached for the lamp and turned the light off. He stood there in the dark, watching John's face until the boy's breathing evened out and he was in a deep relaxing sleep.

_Incompetence. Imperfection. Idiocy._ Jedekiah let the words trickle over his tongue. His emotions had derailed his original plans and could lead to his downfall.

He welcomed it.

It was a natural part of being human. Call them saps, monsters, and maniacs. Let the Founder gnash his teeth in fury and jealousy. Everyone experienced some form of love one way or another at least once in their lifetime. He accepted the fact that he wasn't immune to it.

John might be his Achilles' heel but he was also Jedekiah's courage and shield. His son was now his life and soul; it would give Jedekiah the strength he needed to ride out this storm that they called a Shadow War. Come what may; Paradise or chaos, he would see this through to the end.

Because they were family. Because they loved and cared for each other. If anyone dared to get between him and his son then Dr. Jedekiah Price would summon Hell's wrath down upon that poor soul. _Bring it on_, he added with a smirk.

Jedekiah bend over the bed and feathered a soft kiss to the boy's forehead. "Goodnight, son," he whispered quietly. He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him with a _click_.

It was still raining in New York City.

END


End file.
